Leading charities close to breaking point

THE country’s leading charities are warning they are close to breaking point trying to provide for thousands of vulnerable people in the lead up to Christmas, as demands for food, clothing and help to heat homes surge.

With the budget looming and more cuts expected, Focus Ireland, Barnardos and the ISPCC report a drop in donations of up to 20% and a massive rise in people seeking their services.

National president of SVP Mairead Bushnell said its volunteers were daily facing people who were crumbling under large debts and indespair trying to make ends meet. She warned they did not have the expertise to help people in such dire psychological distress and accused the Government of being out of touch with the struggles low and middle income families were facing.